Home Office

Security Industry Authority (SIA) Annual Report and Accounts 2017 – 2018

baroness williams of trafford: My rt hon Friend the Minister of State for Policing and the Fire Service (Nick Hurd) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement:The 2017-18 Annual Report and Accounts for the Security Industry Authority (HC 1643) is being laid before the House today and will published on www.gov.uk. Copies will be available in the Vote Office.


This statement has also been made in the House of Commons: 
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G6 Lyon

baroness williams of trafford: My rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department (Sajid Javid) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement:The informal G6 group of Interior Ministers held its most recent meeting in Lyon on 8 and 9 October 2017. Representatives from the USA, Morocco and the European Commission also attended the meeting.The summit was chaired by the French Prime Minister and Interim Interior Minister, Édouard Philippe. I represented the United Kingdom. The other participating States were represented by Dr Joachim Brudzinski (Minister of the Interior, Poland), Dr Stephan Mayer (State Secretary, Germany), Matteo Salvini (Minister of the Interior, Italy) and Fernando Grande-Marlaska (Minister of the Interior, Spain).Morocco was represented by Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit. The European Commission was represented by Dimitris Avramopoulos (Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship) and Sir Julian King (Commissioner for the Security Union). The United States was represented by Jeff Sessions (Attorney General USA) and Claire Grady (Acting Deputy Secretary, Department of Homeland Security). Gilles de Kerchove, the EU’s Counter-Terrorism Coordinator also attended.The G6 commenced with a working dinner focused on managing illegal migration flows. During the discussion I promoted the UK’s efforts to tackle people smuggling and human trafficking, and highlighted the UK’s work upstream and our commitment to work with EU partners on this after we leave the EU. I also stressed the importance of recognising that organised crime is a key threat we need to address.The second plenary session was on combatting the threat of returning foreign terrorist fighters. During this session I referred to the UK’s cross-governmental approach to managing returnees and the need for an end-to-end holistic approach to the issue.The third session was a working lunch which focused on security cooperation with Sahel countries. During this session I highlighted the UK’s commitment to the region and discussed our support on security and stabilisation. I also encouraged partners to share information to develop shared understanding of local issues and highlighted the problem of the use of kidnap for ransom as a source of terrorist funding.The final session considered terrorist use of the internet. I highlighted the fact that UK is leading the way on preventing terrorist use of the internet, encouraged the G6 to support the UK’s strategic approach of engaging directly with content service providers and sought their support for action to combat Child Sexual Exploitation online.The next G6 will take place in Germany in 2019.


This statement has also been made in the House of Commons: 
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Department for International Trade

Post - Council Written Ministerial Statement: Informal Trade Foreign Affairs Council 5 October 2018

baroness fairhead: My hon Friend the Minister of State for Trade Policy (George Hollinbery MP) has today made the following statement.The Informal EU Foreign Affairs Council (Trade) took place in Innsbruck on 5 October 2018. The agenda covered the WTO, EU-US trade and EU trade agreements. I represented the UK at the meeting. A summary of the discussions follows: On WTO modernisation, the discussion confirmed that the most urgent issue was unblocking appointments to the WTO Appellate Body. Many WTO members were looking to the EU for leadership on this matter. I reaffirmed the UK’s support for the rules-based trading system, commended the Commission’s concept paper on WTO modernisation, and called for engagement with the wider WTO membership. On EU-US trade, discussion was on the agreement set out in the EU-US Joint Statement following President Juncker’s visit to the White House and progress since July, noting that the near-term focus was on voluntary regulatory cooperation with full respect for domestic legislation. A limited tariff liberalisation was on offer from the EU, provided it focused only on industrial goods. I expressed opposition to US measures on steel, aluminium and threatened measures on autos, offered support to the Commission's approach of prioritising regulatory cooperation, and agreed with others that there should be no lowering of standards. On ongoing FTA negotiations, the priority for the Japan EPA to be approved by the European Parliament was highlighted. Attendees also expressed continued support for the range of other EU trade agreements.


This statement has also been made in the House of Commons: 
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Export Control Policy

baroness fairhead: My hon Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Graham Stuart) has today made the following statement:This statement is guidance given under Section 9 of the Export Control Act 2002.I would like to inform the House of the introduction of a new policy relating to strategic export controls.The Government takes breaches of export controls and trade sanctions very seriously, by investigating, disrupting and taking the appropriate enforcement action against companies and individuals who breach our controls. As part of the continuous improvement of export control policy, we have considered what other means could be used to disrupt illicit activities without increasing the regulatory burden on organisations that operate legitimately. The Government wishes to strengthen its powers in order to mitigate any potential risk that those engaged in activities in breach of export control and sanctions legislation could still separately apply for and receive export or trade control licences in respect of legitimate business activities in which they are simultaneously engaged. Therefore, when assessing licence applications, the Government may take into account the risk that the proposed legitimate activity will directly or indirectly facilitate other activities that violate UK export control or sanctions legislation. In doing so, the Government will consider, inter alia, the conduct of the licence applicant. 


This statement has also been made in the House of Commons: 
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Ministry of Defence

Armed Forces Pay Review Body - Re-Appointment

earl howe: My right hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State and Minister for Defence People and Veterans (Mr Tobias Ellwood) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement. I am pleased to announce that I have invited Lesley Mercer to continue to serve as a Member of the Armed Forces’ Pay Review Body for a further three-year term of office, commencing on 1 March 2019. This appointment has been conducted in accordance with the guidance of the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Domestic farm support funding: a review of distribution across the UK from 2020 to the end of the Parliament

lord gardiner of kimble: My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Michael Gove) has today made the following statement. Today I am announcing that the Government is launching an independent review into the allocation of domestic farm support from 2020 to the end of this Parliament. The review will make sure that fair funding is delivered to all four parts of the UK, when we leave the EU. The review will provide recommendations to the Government on factors to take into account in the split of agricultural funding between the four countries of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, once the UK has left the Common Agricultural Policy. In forming its recommendations, the review will look at what factors should influence the distribution of agricultural funding, while ensuring the effective use of public funds. Each country’s unique circumstances will be considered, including its environmental, agricultural and socio-economic make-up. Both the number of farms and the size of farms in each country could also be considered, to make sure that each part of the UK gets a fair deal. The review will be informed by historic CAP decisions but will not revisit these, or redistribute money that has already been committed. We have already confirmed that we will continue to commit the same cash total in funds for UK farm support until the end of the Parliament, expected in 2022, providing British farmers with more certainty than farmers across the EU, where funding is only guaranteed until 2020. This review will be led and overseen by an independent external reviewer. I am delighted that Lord Bew of Donegore has agreed to chair the review. Lord Bew has been the Chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life for five years, held esteemed positions in Government and contributed to a number of Bills, reviews and reports during his time as a non-party-political peer. Lord Bew will be joined on the panel by representatives from each devolved administration to ensure that their voices are heard. Membership of this group will be confirmed in due course. The terms of reference for the review have been published on the GOV.UK website today. The review will report in March 2019 and the findings of the review will be published on GOV.UK in due course.